Meat and potatoes Death Metal should be its own sub-genre by this point. A dish served in a chipotle sauce with eyeballs stuffed with foie gras and finger sausages, and a nice blood pudding for dessert.

Santa Cruz natives Torture Hammer are back, following a Demo called Dormant Horror released last year (I haven’t heard it, so I won’t be referencing it. Just mentioning it as part of their discography). So, yeah…

Well, I’ve got to hand it to these guys because this is a spectacular EP. Seriously, folks, as far as debut albums go, this is the bees’ knees; from the opening track “Bodily Harm” that swoops in on crushing riffs alá Incantation and Writhing. That guitar tone is purely godly, and the drums kick and punch like an angry girlfriend who found out you secretly hate her cooking. It doesn’t overstay its welcome either. The tracks on this bad motherfucker are shorties; none over 2:25 minutes, and that means each one is a fist to your jawline.

Take “Torture Hammer” not only the band name but the EP name as well, it’s an absolutely deadly song, slow and methodical, like it knows how to hurt you. It does pick up speed about a minute in before slowing down to let the double bass do its job, and there’s even a sick breakdown at the 2:16 mark with enough pinched harmonies that they leave welts.

It’s “Object of Desire” that steals the fucking show, with this killer intro that goes into some systematic blasting, reminiscent of “Masturbating the Wargod” from Niles‘ Black Seeds of Vengeance. The track slows down to breathe, but at the 1:46 mark, it erupts into more furious blasting. I love that intro so much that I will be hearing it in my head for days.

“Catastrophic Collapse” is where they go even slower, and the riffs just fall like steel rain. It’s one of those punishingly beautiful songs that make you remember why you love Death Metal in the first place.

Torture Hammer plays with tempos like a deranged child, and it keeps this EP interesting to ensure repeated listens.

“Hammered” is next and once again displays how brutal these crazy fuckers from California can be, and if it’s not evident by now how much I enjoy this album, then you should start back at the beginning and internalize every word.

“Coward’s Surrender” is last, and of course, it’s motherfuckingly good. Slow burning and vicious till it gets violent at the song’s end. I ended up letting the album repeat and allowing the music to wash over me like a blissful blood shower.

Torture Hammer is on my radar. I’ll be looking forward to an actual full-length album coming out soon… Hopefully. These guys are too fucking good not to sit up and take notice.

So, if you like this sort of crawling chaos leading to a silent demise, then you fan of the aforementioned Incantation and Writhing, not exactly cavernous like Plague Pit; but those first Incantation albums were recorded at the bottom of the ocean. I think you get the picture. Just go get this, you won’t regret it.

[Visit the band's website]

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